My name is Nigel Thomas Bowers and I live in Biddulph, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. I started researching my family and created a web site http://www.nigelbowers.co.uk
I would like to see this blog used as a potential contact site for anyone who my think they are related or would like to more about researching a family tree.
HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU

August 5th I left Sandbach station by the 12:30 p.m. train and arrived at Great Yarmouth at 1 a.m. August 6th, and at once went through the usual formalities of passing the doctor afterwards going to 2 M.S. store to get my kit, after fitting my clothes I was sent to a barrack room for my nights lodging, this was about 3 a.m. and I lay down for a sleep on the floor with one blanket, rather a change after a comfortable bed, but I could not expect any luxury at such a time as this, anyway I have a sleep, but at 5 a.m. the next morning I get a rude awakening from the orderly sergeant. I get up and look around myself and find plenty of men of all countries but all inclined to be chums, and all in the best of spirits although my head feels rather heavy, so breakfast is served to us this consists of one biscuit a piece of cheese and 1 pint of tea, 6 a.m. we all parade for C.G.s inspection and fitting clothes, afterwards we have an hour's instructions on rifle work, the rest of the day is spent looking around us and wondering what is going to become of all of us, during this time I meet many of my old chums of the days in the colours and many are the greetings that passed between us, 3 p.m. the barrack orderly comes round and warns 8 of us for duty with an hospital so we have to be ready to embark on the 6 p.m. train for Colchester, it is during this train ride that I began to find my pals. The first one I find out is a Gnr. Hill, he comes from the potteries, and the next one comes from Crewe, so I am landed now that I have some of my own countrymen for mates, we arrive at Colchester about midnight, and of course nobody will own us but eventually we get bundled into a room all in darkness and have to make the best of it, but we are glad to get inside for a rest as we are all tired out and we don't mind roughing it a bit although our thoughts are far away with the dear ones we have left behind. The next morning finds us in the same plight so we have to find out who we belong to, eventually we find ourselves at No. 9 Stationary Hospital and here we get a better reception and are given a good breakfast, afterwards we wander about barracks where we like, as the Hpl is awaiting orders. During all this time we are all confined to barracks which is rather disappointing.

August 11th we are told that we are under orders for active service in the field and all must be inoculated as a protection against fever, so we undergo this operation, which causes many of us much pain although I myself am not affected so much as some of the others.

Aug 13th about 6 p.m. we receive orders to be in readiness to move off at any minute although we are all told that this will be about 2 a.m., the rest of the night is spent in the canteen, making merry and singing all kinds of songs, when the canteen closed we went to our rooms and prepared for our move.

Aug 14th about 2 a.m. we are ordered to put our equipment on and fall in outside, the strictest silence being observed, so in silence we marched off to the railway station where a train is in readiness for us, no one knows where we are going so secretly is everything done. When everything is loaded up the train steams out and by daylight we find ourselves many miles away from Colchester wondering where we are bound for, but we have not long to wait for about 10 a.m. the train steams into Southampton docks, and first thing we saw was a big liner converted into a Government transport and on her bows were the words S. S. Caledonian so we knew this to be our boat, well we had to buckle in and get our hospital on board, this done and all the troops on board which numbered between 2000 and 3000 we sailed out of Southampton under sealed orders nobody knew our destination. About eight hours sailing brought us to Havre a port on the French coast and here we disembarked to await further orders, although I may mention we were fortunate in landing as we narrowly escaped disaster at the hands of a German mine which we missed by 100 yards, at any rate we shake hands with ourselves for landing safe and wonder what else is in store for us, anyway we sleep on the docks all night and the next morning Aug 16th we proceed to Montivilliers a distance of 10 miles out in the country, well we enjoy this journey very much as we glide through the country in tram cars and the French peasants cheer, and almost worship us for coming to their aid. On arriving at Montivilliers we find it a fine place, and we are quartered in a big college which we soon turn into a Hpl, afterwards we pitch another Hpl of marquees and have everything ready by Aug 27th when we have orders to be ready to receive 300 wounded but instead of the wounded, about 4 a.m. Aug 28th we received orders to pack up and clear out as soon as possible as the Germans had broken through our lines and were close behind us, this is what is known as the famous "Retreat of Mons", so we packed everything up and about 2 a.m. the next morning found us marching back to Havre which was not very nice after a hard day's work but we had to put up with it and arrived at Havre about 4.30 after many thrilling encounters from the French Sentries in which my mate Hill, narrowly escaped being bayoneted, Anyway we arrived at the Docks in safety where we stayed until September 2nd when we embarked on the S.S. Victorian for an unknown stn the first night on board we slept on top deck for it was a beautiful night and we enjoyed it, at 5 p.m. the next day we sailed out under sealed orders and three days later found ourselves at St.Nazaire in the south of France, after disembarking our hospital we proceeded to a rest camp to await further orders. The first night we slept in an open field. It was a splendid night and we all enjoyed it but the second night was just the reverse for after working all day and having nothing to eat for all rations had been left behind on the great Retreat we got down for a sleep and everyone was tired out, but alas our sleep was very short for about 11 p.m. a terrific thunderstorm broke over us and we were all soaked to the skin, and had to walk about the rest of the night to keep ourselves warm and praying for morning to come while our clothes dried on us, At length morning came and we looked a sorry lot, so we set to and pitched a Camp for ourselves. 8 a.m. the same morning two Highlanders were shot for committing a rape on a French woman.

Sept 9th a German Spy caught in Camp dressed in a British Officer's uniform, he is sent to England along with 185 German prisoners captured at the front.

Sept. 14th we pitch our hospital on a piece of waste ground which means working day and night until it is finished which lasted about two days and a night. Sept 16th we receive 300 wounded and I saw some awful sights, some had a leg off, some were arms short, and others were blind or shattered about the body, anyway they resembled a sorry picture, nevertheless they kept their spirits up. My duties with this Hpl were many for I had to go out with a native driver to fetch rations in and once or twice they took me to Nantes a distance of 50 miles up country, on these occasions I had a splendid trip up the river Loire. On September 28 and I got a clean change of washing the first time for seven weeks.

Sept 29th there was a small naval engagement outside the Harbour in which the Germans were defeated and driven off.

Oct 22nd we received orders to pack up and clear out, this was about 6:30 a.m. and we had to be on the train by 1.30 p.m. which meant there was some work to be done, however we managed it and at 1:30 p.m. we started on a journey of 800 miles through country and back again to Havre and here I stayed until Nov 5th when all men belonging to R.G.A. were recalled to join their own units. I joined my unit at a place called Lanvic, afterwards moving to Graville, where I enjoyed my greatest hardships for we were camped in small bell tents on a field that had grown mangolds, and with the continual rain and the troops walking about on it the mud it was up to our knees, but we got no sympathy for we were starving, practically getting nothing to eat and out working with the engineers in all kinds of weather when our clothes and were wet through we had to stick it and scarcely got a wash more than once a week for it was dark when we left camp and dark when we returned and the water tap was about 200 yds away so we were not in much of a mood for splashing through the mud after being among it all day, so we had to make the best of it and everyone was fed up anyway I stuck it until Jan 14th when I was ordered to hold myself in readiness for the front and I was not sorry to think that I was getting out of a living grave, so Jan 15th saw me on the train flying towards the firing line and on Jan 16th I joined the First Siege Battery and it was here that I first tasted a bit of real warfare as I and my comrades who had come with me were approaching the Battery we were greeted by a big German shell which burst close by us. However we had to get used to this sort of work so we didn't pay much heed to that one, the remainder of that day was a rest for me which I needed after travelling for the last 36 hours.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

A bit early, but what the hell, get your researching done. But hang on aminute, it is not on Ancestry. It has a designated web site at www.1911census.co.uk. Went on to have a look, but you haev to buy credits to view the entries in full, so I paid for my 30 credits for access to one census page The Bowers Family. Very interesting as it i wriiten bythe householder, in this instance Emily and includes more details than the other census records. One I found fascinating was she had 10 children and declared to have had 3 that had died......